WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[PanBiker]

Happy Birthday to Wendy

[Cathy]

Happy Birthday Wendy
Do your own thing today
Enjoy.

[Wendyf]

Thank you Ian and Cathy, we had a stroll along the canal at Greenberfield this morning followed by coffee and cake at the Lock Stop Cafe.

229903506_3501480526555053_3275443607155686329_n.jpg

[Stanley]

Lovely..... You both look good! Many more of them Wendy... And tell Col he's looking good. I keep wondering if I should grow my beard again..... (He looks so distinguished)

[Cathy]

Another lovely pic to keep

[chinatyke]

Happy birthday. Have a lovely day.

[Big Kev]

Happy birthday Wendy.

[PostmanPete]

My signed books arrived today, I have them on my Kindle but it's nice to have them 'in the flesh'
20210802_142803.jpg
20210802_142722.jpg

Congratulations Kev..!

Have you read his 'Harrogate' stories? I'm after some holiday reading and wondered if you would recommend them?

I certainly have and, if you like crime novels, I'd highly recommend them. I bought all 10 for my Kindle on an offer.

That's my holiday reading sorted.

[Stanley]

On an entirely different matter.... I have been hearing interviews with military and political leaders in Afghanistan who are confident that the Taliban will not be able to take over and control the country.
At the same time I listen to reports that they now control about three quarters of the country and are making progress with the larger towns. Lashnagar is said to be almost wholly controlled by the Taliban and there are car bomb attacks in Kabul.
All I can say is that things are not looking good for the optimists....

[Tizer]

I missed seeing the posts yesterday (too much time in the garden!) but better late than never - Happy Birthday, Wendy! And thanks for posting the photo, it's good to see both of you looking so well. That reminds me of a story my mother liked to tell...When I was a young child I had a pal called Michael and we were always playing out together. Then I got a bad infection and was in bed for a week or more. Michael kept coming and asking if I could play out but my mother always had to say no and explained why. Apparently he eventually became very distressed and thought they'd sent me away somewhere. Mum had to let him come and stand at my bedroom door and see me sleeping before he settled down and accepted what she told him!

[Stanley]

Those childhood friendships could be very powerful attractions. Just as well to bear that in mind when you are dealing with your own children.



Kids and friends with a calf in 1976.

[Tizer]

Here in Somerset our recycling and kitchen waste collection has been missed again. Garden waste collections have been suspended until 13th September so that drivers can work on the other collections. I see that supermarkets say the shortage of HGV drivers is getting worse for them. We often can't get the usual products from our supermarkets.

[Stanley]

And no wonder there is a shortage Peter. For decades the HGV driver has been underpaid and under valued. Add the cessation of tests under Covid restrictions and now the pins that mean isolation and is it any wonder that distribution networks are struggling? I heard one lady director saying that they had gone out and bought the largest vehicles that could be driven on a car licence and even the directors were going out on local deliveries.
Perhaps they might treat their drivers a bit better. I always said that the most common definition of a wagon driver was a man who was in the wrong place with the wrong load at the wrong time. You never miss the water 'til the well runs dry.

[Tizer]

I heard a discussion on Inside Science about the American space billionaires vying for the job of providing NASA with a spaceship - Bezos, Musk etc. If these people have bottomless bank accounts and want to do some good why don't they fund research into how we might stop all the wars here on Earth? What's the point of spending billions on space exploration when millions are dying of starvation on Earth and thousands are killing each other in wars and terrorism? Why do we let these people keep so much money to themselves when others have a much greater need for it?

[PanBiker]

Why do we let these people keep so much money to themselves when others have a much greater need for it?

Steady on Peter that's pretty much what Socialism is about, there's hope for you yet.

[plaques]

Space tourism all predicted in 1961 by Arthur C Clarke. Space The bottom line is there's money to be made out of taking the super rich on an ego boosting trip. Bill Gates is doing his best but the rest don't appear interested in the lower orders.

[Stanley]

I will not bang on but read Piketty and consider his views. We need a global wealth tax.



On a different matter. I appear to have a lodger. This cat is spending more and more time in my yard. I have no problem with that....

[Stanley]

The postie delivered this....



Its a chuck for ER32 32 collets mounted on a hexagon block. A really useful little widget for milling hexagons or using the collets in another chuck. Made in China but don't let this put you off. very good quality and cheap. Only half the price of a similar tool made in the UK.

[chinatyke]

You could have used that image for the next mystery object. Or would it have been obvious what it is to the engineers?

[Stanley]

What that pic doesn't show is that when I had a proper look at it they have forgotten the last operation, to mill out an eccentric part of the interior which allows the collet to clip into the nut. No problem as I have other collet nuts and when I have time I'll mill this one out but annoying! The hexagonal body is the main thing and that's OK.
(And after me being so nice about China!)

[Stanley]

I've been listening to the reports coming out of Afghanistan which on the one hand tell a story of the Taliban making gains all over the country and on the other hand we have government spokesmen giving optimistic reports of hundreds of Taliban killed each day and territory regained or not lost.
I was reminded of the above image made by Philip Jones Griffiths and published in 1971 in his wonderful book 'Vietnam Inc'. The picture shows the daily download from the programme that ran on an IBM computer which took all the reports and condensed them into a daily kill count and estimates of 'who loved' the Americans. It was always over optimistic but was what was used for planning.
I have a soft back copy of the book, $3.95 in 1971, £90 today. Not a bad investment.

[Tizer]

I've just been reading a Times article about the effects of the US pull-out on aircraft operating in Afghanistan. About a third of the Afghan military aircraft are now inoperable due to loss of US support. It's not the US airforce that's been maintaining them but private US businesses and, not surprisingly, the staff have refused to stay there without their own US troops. Other problems have arisen. Some of the equipment and methodology supplied by the US won't work in Afghanistan due to unreliable electrical supply and poor internet. Afghan flyers have been trained in the US but many failed the courses. Afghan fighter pilots are being murdered by the Taliban - not shot down in action but killed elsewhere in terror attacks. Currently the US is using B-52 bombers and Spectre gunships (Hercules bristling with cannon) but these are operating from another country (Qatar, I think) and the operational costs are mounting and likely to lead to cancellation. And the warlords are taking over. All in all, Afghanistan is a dog's breakfast.

[Big Kev]

The BBC are filming in Barlick this evening at Mcculloughs on Rainhall Rd. Simon Hough (Big Country) is performing there to promote his new solo album, he's supported by local musicians Alan Sagar and Nick Rickwood.

[Stanley]

I don't know why but reading that Shirley popped into my mind.... Must be an age thing. Lovely woman.

[Stanley]

Joe Biden telling tribal leaders in Afghanistan to unite to fight the Taliban. Highly optimistic and completely ignores regional history. The one thing the tribes have never done is unite! This is the one crucial fact that no foreign invader has recognised. Afghanistan is a region inhabited by disparate tribes, not a 'country' in Western terms.
Later.... I heard him again and realised he actually refers to Afghanistan as a 'nation'. In your dreams Joe!